Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was super hyped about Indiana’s crazy overtime comeback that he totally missed what caused the scuffle between his teammates and the Milwaukee Bucks players after game five of their first-round series in the NBA Playoffs. When he finally made it back to the locker room and saw the replay, he cringed as he watched his dad, John, on the court, going head-to-head with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks.
“I had no clue it all went down until I got back to the locker room and they played me the video of my old man,” the two-time All-Star said after sealing the deal with a clutch lay-up with just 1.3 seconds remaining, securing a 119-118 win for Indiana and a 4-1 series victory. “We had a little chat about it. I don’t really agree with what went down out there. I believe basketball should stay on the court. I think he just got a bit too caught up in the moment.”
Antetokounmpo was also not too thrilled after his squad blew a seven-point lead in the final 40 seconds of overtime, ultimately leading to the Bucks’ third consecutive first-round exit. The two-time MVP didn’t even recognize John Haliburton, assuming he was just another fan who had dashed onto the court.
Antetokounmpo expressed his fondness for Haliburton, praising him as a fierce competitor, but he found John Haliburton waving a towel with his son’s face while shouting “this is what we (expletive) do” to be disrespectful. “I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” stated Antetokounmpo, who wrapped up the game with 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Haliburton appeared genuinely upset about the whole ordeal, vowing to reach out to Antetokounmpo before their next matchup. “I’ll have a chat with Giannis about it eventually,” said Haliburton, a native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “I don’t think my dad was in the right there at all. It’s just unfortunate what went down at the end.”
“It’s unfortunate what happened there (the scuffle), but I think it’s just competition,” he added. “As for my dad, I don’t really agree with what went down. We’ll have a talk.”
Antetokounmpo shared an anecdote from the Bucks’ championship season in 2020-21, reminiscing about how his mother attended every game from mid-February through the title run. The Greek star mentioned that his mother wasn’t even sure if she could come onto the court to embrace him at the end of the final game, highlighting that his family members typically don’t sit courtside.
The Pacers and Bucks have faced off 20 times over the past two seasons, with the Pacers emerging victorious in 11 playoff games and both post-season series in an increasingly intense rivalry.